SANRAL NEEDS HELP TO STAY AFLOAT

IT IS sad that one of the last few functioning departments is now coming to a standstill.

The latest that Sanral has stopped issuing contracts and a major contractor is retrenching staff means come four to five years, even national roads (a sense of pride, engineering genius and joy) will be coming to an end. Provincial roads are already in a bad state.

The much-awaited Durban/Pietermaritzburg upgrade does not have a commencement date and let’s hope when this happens it is built in smaller stages with two teams – one from Pietermaritzburg and the other from Durban. Much like how Swiss tunnels are built.

Looking back at the arms deals and Fifa stadiums, good double/ triple-lane roads would have been a far better and sustainable investment. It’s sad that SA taxpayers have to carry extra burdens for previous vanity projects. That was Third World thinking at its peak.

As for Sanral, the government will have to look at extra funding measures and maybe as the fuel price subsides, create a dedicated Sanral/road fuel levy with diesel slightly lower (given the larger volumes truckers and farmers use).

Even an extra 20 cents on a litre will make a huge difference to Sanral’s budget.

Tolls are too time-consuming and a waste of productivity.

Sanral needs funding urgently otherwise we will end up with road shedding.